Staff Reporter

Orange has confirmed the purchase of 46 stores from O2 at once increasing its total store portfolio by 13.5 per cent to 339 sites.

The new stores a combination of former Link stores and unwanted O2 sites will take Orange into 19 towns in which it doesnt already have a presence.

Orange said that the first of the new stores will begin trading as Orange on November 13 in time for the Christmas rush.

The new stores will be used next year as part of store design overhaul to showcase Oranges quad-play offerings – mobile fixed line broadband and television.

Orange expects to take on around 250 new staff members as part of the deal. Staff will undergo a week of training prior to transferring to Orange.

Finnish GPS handset manufacturer Benefon has appointed Louise Turley as international marketing manager on the back of the launch of the TWIG handset brand to new markets.

Turley will support channel sales and raise TWIGs product awareness in new markets across the globe. She will pull together and push trade-oriented incentive schemes consumer-focused promotions and merchandising.

Turley joins Benefon from Orange PCS where she was channel marketing manager and responsible for indirect sales and marketing strategies for independent Orange dealers distributors and high street retailers.

Benefon chief marketing officer Jeremy Newing said: It is critical to the success of TWIG in the consumer SatNav market to cement the brand with our distribution partners customers and consumers. Louise will utilise her previous experience in the mobile distribution retail sector to drive these elements of the marketing mix. Louises enthusiasm and previous experience make her a valuable addition.

T-Mobile has struck a deal to provide on-train Wi-Fi access to Heathrow Express customers from early 2007.

Uninterrupted broadband access of speeds of up to 8Mbps will be available to customers for the 23-minute journey from Paddington to Heathrow airport terminals including all tunnel sections.

Users will be able to purchase Wi-Fi HotSpot passes on the trains or elsewhere and use them at other T-Mobile HotSpots after they have disembarked.

T-Mobile HotSpot manager Jay Saw said: This builds on the success of the service we launched in April 2005 on the London-Brighton Southern train line. Whilst the Heathrow Express is a relatively short route the Wi-Fi service will enable business users to check their email or send documents prior to a flight or meeting.

The Heathrow Express carries 5.3 million passengers per annum and includes a relatively high proportion of business travellers.

However despite confirming that plans were in place to make such a move Orange said that it would not be ready to do so as soon as January. There are plans for the future but not early next year said an Orange spokesperson.

Moco managing director Ian Robinson said: We have been told that it will launch a quarterly price book in January. Its a step in the right direction because the price cuts have been quite sudden and severe this year and in the worst cases it has meant that dealers have not been able to budget for sales have lost deals and have been left holding stock.

Vodafone and O2 already run quarterly price books.

20:20 Mobile Group has confirmed that five roles within Dextra Solutions are at risk rather than the 20 per cent reported in the last issue of Mobile News.

A Dextra spokesman said: In an effort to allay any undue concerns the company has stressed to staff that the confirmed number of roles under review comprises only two per cent of the whole workforce at the division.

3 said that some dealers make it too difficult for customers to claim the money back on the contract they have been sold. It has extended the claim period to 90 days minimum.

It told dealers: Due to the increasing amount of customer queries into the contact centre and non-compliance with the previous minimum standards issued in relation to cash-back schemes we have revised our minimum business standards for all sales channels running customer cash-back offers.

In most cases cashback offers claim that customers will receive a benefit of half-price line rental but then impose unreasonably onerous conditions which have the result of denying customers the benefit advertised. This is a breach of the law and a breach of your agreement with Hutchison 3G.

Dealers can no longer withhold cashback because customers accounts arent up to date. Nor can dealers ask customers to send original bills to claim. Copies will do it said. Dealers shouldnt charge to process claims either or restrict the period in which customers can claim cash back.

Any sales channel that runs cashback offers must state clearly that it is a dealer cashback offer rather than a 3 offer and that it is based on the redemption. Dealers are also obliged to explain the cashback deal to the customer in full both verbally and in writing.

Miller is better known for dressing such Hollywood stars as Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry.

The cases are handstitched using fabrics such as suede soft leather and satin and take design cues from this season of Millers sartorial creations.

Actiweb is pitched as an alternative service to CPWs Vanilla offering. Dextra commercial sales manager Mike Gray who headed up CPWs Vanilla service will manage the operation.

Dextra sales director Angie Simpson said: The initial trials with a handful of partners have gone very well. We did pre-sales last week and dealers were queuing up.

MacLeod has been with Orange for five years. Orange said that he had accepted a role as chief operating officer in a company outside of the telecoms industry.

MacLeod will be replaced by Cynthia Gordon vice president of marketing for the Orange Group since 2003. Gordon has 15 years of commercial telecoms experience.

An Orange spokesperson said: Cynthia is well known to Orange UK having been part of the senior management team in the early days of the directorate and for the last three years has worked across Europe.

The new store has been designed with a bank of nine plasma screen TVs to highlight products and show a constantly changing marketing message.

DPC managing director Phil Rider said: Its right in the centre of the main shopping street in Norwich so weve looked to differentiate ourselves with the store layout.

Rider said that DPC was looking to increase its business connections. At present around 35 per cent of its business is B2B. Rider wants its consumer/business ratio to run closer to 50:50.

He said: Were running parallel with last year in terms of business. We initially forecast a dip this year so were very pleased.